bentley



(No Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet l. E, M. BENTLEY.

, ELECTRIC RAILWAY. No. 426,580. I Patented Apr. 29, 1890.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

' E. M. BENTLEY. ELBGTRIG RAILWAY N0.Y426,58O. PatentedApI. 279, 1890.

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RMBENTLEY. ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

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h v t WITNESSES: M INVENTOR:

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

EDVARD M. BENTLEY, OF NEY YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 426,580, dated April29,' 1890.

Application iiled January 20,1888. Serial No. 261,357. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD M. BENTLEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, in the county of New York, State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Railways,

' of which the following is a specification.

companying drawings, wherein-- Figure 1 is a transverse section througha contact or junction box. Fig. 2 is a diagram of the connection at twosuccessive junctionboxes. Fig. 3 is a plan of the apparatus on a curve.Fig. e is a plan of a junction-box. Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5 5of Fig 4, and Figs. G and 7 are respectively end and side views, showingthe means of connecting the contact-conductor to the car.

In the drawings B is the main supply-conductor, which is completelyinclosed and insulated except at intervals of about fifteen feet, wherethere is an exposed point or contact and a contact-box inclosing it.

D'is a contact-conductor, slightly longer thanthe intervals between theexposed points. Itis suspended from a traveling vehicle by insulators Hand is lconnected to one terminal of the propelling-motor ot thevehicle. At each junction-box provision is made for establishing aconnection between the exposed point in the box and the eontact-conductcr D as the vehicle moves along.

In Fig. l F is a-leverpivoted at L and carry ing at its lower end ametallic contact-piece C, which is connected to the main conductor B bythe flexible insulated wire G. The point O is insulated from the lever Fby a bushing M.

A represents the walls ofV the box which extends through the paving,iiush with the street-surface, and connects with a drainage pit or pitsR located below the pavement,

On the top of the box is an opening adapted to receive the socket N att-he end of the lever F.

lll( is a trip extending horizontally through an opening in an oiset ofthe box where itis readily accessible from the surface of the street.The inner end of this pin bears against the shorter arm of ylever F andwhen forced in throws the lever up intothe position shown by the dottedlines. In this position of lever F the contact-pin O is raised above thesurface of the roadway through the openings in the junctioirboxes, whereit may come into contact with D and be held ,against it by theresiliency of the spring forming the longer arm of lever F.

E is a circuit-controller, carried by the vehicle and corresponds inlength with conductor D, from which it is insulated. dThiscircuit-controller is carried by the vehicle in such a position that itwill strike the outer end of trip Il and forcing it inward throw the pinC against the conductor D. By this means an electric connection isestablished between the inclosed conductor B and the motor of thevehicle.

The conductor D is of such a length that it will -be in contact with twosuccessive pins O at the same time, so that the connection between themotor and the supply-conductor is constantly maintained. The otherterminal of the motor may be connected with asimilar apparatus, so as tobe in connection with a corresponding supply-conductor, or thereturn-circuit may be through the rails or the metallic inclosnre ofconductor B.

In Fig. 2 the conductor D is shown dia grammatically in contact with twopoints O. W'hen in its normal position, as shown in Fig.` l, thecontact-point O is out of the path of travel of the contact device andin a position. inaccessible thereto. It is also ont of line with theopening in the top of the box, and any water or other substance whichmay enter said opening falls into the pit R, where it may be taken outat will without having caused any leakage or other trouble with theelectrical arrangements. It desired, a cover may be provided for thisopening, which will be operated by the circuit-controller Esimultaneously with the trip H', This is shown IOO in Figs. 4 and 5, inwhich O is a sliding cover which takes the place ot the trip H. It isoperated by a projection Q, which extends into the path ofcircuit-controller E. In passing around a curve the length of thecircuitcontroller and contactconductor makes it necessary that the boxesbe placed nearer together and in a curve which is eccentric to lthecurve of the track, as is shown in Fig. 3.

It will be 'seen from this figure that the circuit-controller is firmlyheld in an operative position by the springs S, which constantly tend todraw it to one side of the vehicle, so that the T-shaped points Pniayrest in corresponding sockets K. In rounding a curve thecircuit-controller will take the position shown in dotted lines, whilethe trips ll or the offsets Q will have their corners rounded to meetthe controller.

The means for connecting the contactdevice and circuit-controller to thevehicle are more clearly shown in Figs. 6 and 7. They are attached toopposite sides ot' an insulating block or blocks H, from which thereextends upwardly the arm 7L, provided with an angle portion h', whichrests uipon and is free to slide along the strap T, attached to asuitable portion U ofthe car structure. A spring s, connected at itsrespective ends to a bracket t and the arm 7L, normally-holds thecontact device and controller in the position shown in Fig. 3.

I claim-- l. In an electric railway, an insulated supply-conductorsupplied with a series of m'ov.

able exposed contacts normally in circuit with the supply-conductor, butout of the path of travel of the contact device, in combination with acontact-conductor attached to a vehicle `on the railway and of a lengthequal to the distance between the said exposed contacts, and meanscontrolled by the presence of the vehicle for successively bringing saidcontacts into engagement with the traveling contact device.

2. The combination, in an electric railway, of an insulatedsupply-conductor supplied with a series of movable exposed contactsnormally housed in a position inaccessible to the contact device, butbrought successively into engagement with the same as the vehicletravels over the railway.

3. The combination, in an electric railway, of an insulatedsupply-conductor supplied with a series of movable contacts, a contactdevice attached to the vehicle upon the railway, and acircuit-controller distinct from the said contact device forsuccessivelyestablishing an electrical connection between the supply-conductor andcontact device through the said contacts.

4. The combination, in an electric railway,

i ot an insulated supply-conductor provided with a series of movablecontacts normally arranged out of the path of travel of the contactdevice, with a mechanical circuit-con troller attached to the car andsuccessively bringing said contacts into engagement with the contactdevice as the vehicle travels over the railway.

5. The combination, with the inclosed insulated supply-conductor exposedat intervals, of an inclosing--box for the exposed points provided withan opening, a contact-conductor carried by a vehicle and of a lengthequal to the distances between two exposed points, and acircuit-controller projecting the exposed contacts through the openingsin the boxes into electrical connection with the con-v tact-conductor.

The combination, with the inclosed insulated supply-conductor exposed atintervals, of a series of contact-boxes inclosing the exposed points, acover for each of said boxes, an electrically-propelled vehicle, aprojection from said vehicle for withdrawing the covers, and means forprojecting the exposed contacts through the openings in the boxes intoelectrical connection with the contact device in circuit with thepropelling-motor.

7. The combination, with the insulated supply-conductor exposed atintervals, of a series of boxes inclosing the exposed points andprovided with pits and placed flush with the surface of the roadway, anelectricallyvpropelled vehicle, and means for maintaining an electricalconnection between the said vehicle and the exposed points of thesupplyconductor through openings in the boxes inclosing the saidpoints'.

S. The combination, in an electric railway, with a drainage pit or pitsbelow the streetpavement and a seriesof boxes communicating therewithand extending through the pavement liush with the street-surface, of aninsulated supply-conductor provided with exposed contacts at intervals,which are housed in said boxes, as described.

9. The combination, with insulated conduct-or B, of the box A, flushwith the surface of the roadway and provided with an opening, a movableconductor-point, actuating devices therefor carried by a vehicle, anelectric motor on the vehicle, and means for establishing an electricalconnection between the said motor and the said supply-conductor throughthe opening in' box A.

lO. The combination, with the insulated supply-conductor B, providedwith conductorpoints at intervals, each of which is connected to thesupply-conductor by a wire G, of a series of boxes A, inclosing the conductor-points, and means for lifting the points through open ings in theboxes, as described.

ll. The combination ot an insulated supply-conductor provided with aseries of movable exposed contacts housed underground and acorresponding series of trips therefor, readily accessible at thestreet-surface, with a circuitcontroller attached to a traveling vehiclefor actuating said trips, and thereby establishing an electricalconnection between ICO IIC

IZO

the exposed contacts and the contact device in circuit with thepropelling-motor.

l2. The combination,in an electric railway, of an insulatedsupply-conductor, a series of movable exposed contacts for establishingan electrical connection between the supply-conductor and thepropelling-motor, and flexible conducting-wires between thesupply-conductor and contacts.

13. The combination, with a curved railway-track, of a supply-conductorexposed at intervals, a series of contact-boxes inclosing the exposedpoints of said conductor and placed in a curve eccentric to therailwaytrack, a vehicle, a contact-conductor carried by said vehicle, ofa length equal at least to the distance between two exposed points, andmeans for maintaining an electrical connection between the saidcontact-conductor EDVARD M. BENTLEY.

Witnesses:

VRoBT. W. BLACKWELL,

JULIEN M. ELLIOT.

